Wightman Road in Harringay N4/N8 London lived again for 5 months in 2016 when the road was closed whilst the railway bridge at its southern end was strengthened. With traffic dramatically down as a result of the bridge works, this residential community was reborn. A place where children played in the street, neighbours stopped for a chat, families cycled safely and where joggers and commuters enjoyed rather than endured passing through. The road re-opened in September 2016 and we've returned to carrying a massively disproportionate share of local traffic –120,000 vehicles a week. This is generating killer levels of pollution, with children most at risk. Nitrogen Dioxide was above EU legal limits. Worse still, given the high proportion of deprived households on Wightman Road, some of the poorest children in Haringey were paying the price for the convenience of motorists from other areas who were using Wightman Road as a rat run.

Haringey Council is about to engage local residents about their options to improve the traffic problems. We will be campaigning to encourage people to support a filtered option, whereby through traffic on Wightman would either be restricted or end. This will reduce rat running on the Harringey ladder roads. Cameras charging vehicles or physical barriers would be put in place. Filtering could be in place all the time or at certain times of the day. We'll also by lobbying the Council to support a filtered option. Haringey Council want to manage our expectations - we want to raise theirs - to help create a city that's fit for its people.

An estimated 7,500 new households created in the immediate and surrounding areas means a bad situation will get even worse. So it’s in everyone’s interests that we act NOW to stand up for the quality of life of local residents, particularly children who face stark health inequalities, on Wightman Road and the surrounding area.
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